National Bank of Canada FI Sells 487,446 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI significantly reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. by 58.9% during the first quarter, owning 340,380 shares valued at approximately $40 million post-sale.
• Vistra recently reported a miss in quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $1.01 compared to the expected $1.63, along with revenues of $4.25 billion, falling short of analyst estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.226 per share, which will be paid on September 30th, marking a boost from its previous dividend of $0.23.

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 58.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 340,380 shares of the company's stock after selling 487,446 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.10% of Vistra worth $40,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VST. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Vistra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,908 shares of the company's stock worth $8,680,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at about $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at about $432,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Vistra by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,021,000 after buying an additional 57,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 12.9% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $5,650,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 88,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,218,505.12. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total value of $16,953,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,259,158.22. The trade was a 33.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 294,000 shares of company stock worth $47,461,490 in the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vistra Stock Down 0.1%

VST traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.26. 556,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,223,928. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $190.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.34. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $72.90 and a 1 year high of $216.85.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $0.226 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Vistra's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.62.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.